Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-11-20
GoYm4m.s WHITE sLAvEs.
The little GA children OF The Tenc.
mems sud Their Toll.

hDOr auDAF TIC NtlhlLg CIdbacc. ~ AAt
lab5r organizations, Legislatures, and
humaLiiarans generally have been
struggling to abolish the lsbOrng
Of oAlldrcn in factories and work
shops, DIRE necessity has forced
an cyerlncrcasiRg number Of ohil-
dren 10 the hardest. most mOnoton0us,
and tho rost health destroying labor
that q child can Go. Tor every child
who has boon forced out Of the factories
two havo been e-t TO work 10 TIE tene-
ment-houses. Tho competition OF chill
dfen in trades pGrsHod IN factories and
workshops has been killed or partly kill
cd, but 10 the trades pursued N dark,
foul rooua, by hell fod women and the
competition Of chllren hos increased
md become en important factor IN fixing
wages.
Tine was VIXEN the sewing woman
with two or three half-grevn children
was called fortunate, for with thor aid
in her daily work she could sustain the
fami.y IN comparative comfort. Now
the woman with children is little better
OF tan the one without; worse 81,
sometmos, for when a wenau working
fifteen hours n day causot enrn enough
- support herself, tho labgr Of children
j. as tutle The more there Gro ia tho
fami.y the Greater is the weekly deficit
lotwceu what they must have 70 sustain
lie and what they can earn. no matter
how many Of them work Children. al
though they help IN the work. mean
simply more charity Eceded 20 keep the
family alive Nevertheless the children
FAUST Work, as oyon charity Will not keep
starvation away.
From working because their work
brought increased comfort to the family,
tie children have cone b WORK, because
taeY must work or ttaryo. As so0a az
Icy ere five or SIX years oh they are
forced into the 6osdiy grind for daily
bread and they never leave it until they
10 90 the factory . better themselves or
to the bad for lack Of g single kindly IL
Luence to keep them 70 the good
a Sun reporter, finding among tho
sewing women ono who, vixen asked her
daily Carnlncs, named n sgm n little
larger than others doing The same work
were getting, asked for an explanation.
she sad
ooh, der vas der kinder; dey help
mo-"
This is 50 much a malter Of course
that She never Thought to speak OF it
separately. The sewing Iaothers never
40. They count the earnings Of the
whole family as one SUM-
The dop-bhop keepers soon get 10
know who OF Mair vsnsn have children
and who hsye not, and ia their arbitra-
" E,IEE Of prices the Children ARE
taken llt1 consideration. This is the
wAv it works:
l4rs. Jones y sewing WOMAN, Genes Ter
more uoiE, protest. that she c0nnoi live
II Tie lower pay which is offered her.
"Oh, yes, tncre is Mrs Smith. She
makes four dollars a week doing the
same woIh. You con get along as well
rs enc cln.
"Iut A'rs. Smith has two children,
and they help her.
" Well, $50 can't help that you know.
Iou orflt 70 have children, too"
W c.u.se tie woman has 10 take the
work o. the price offered. Then in
comes Nrs. Smith, VINO also begins to
protest when the price Of her work IS
cut down.
"Ent Mrs. Jones OILY gets that much,
and sho has no children 10 help her.
lou ought to DO it cheaper than she
does.
And SO it goes.
Ca'h4rine OTTO. over sixty and a widow
for thirteen years past, l,yes in top
no0r room ut no east Sixth street. She
finishes pantaiools for a man named
Frank
and inc Is very good 10 me, too, she
says lie gives Inc more pay some
times and better work than other women
get. Sometimes Le phys me- fifteen and
sixteen cents, aG8 sometimes eighteen
for a pair Of pants. Some women work
for eight and nine cents Then ! can
finish three PAIR a day when ] an not
sick and can work well. Bat ny eyes,
they are some already, and often l can
not work, 80 1 do not well Ny little
CIR. she is fourteen She help nc. Sho
Sew on buttons and such work. That is
now sometimes / make, maybe, twenty
five, maybe thirly-Gye, sometimes maybe
fifty cents Il day"
Thousands If women and children arc
dong the same work aad getting rarely
better, often poorer, pay than Catherine
Otto.
"Der yas der kinder; dey help me,
is a remark That inight he echoed in hum
drods OF tcEements, were the fact not
s4i.-cvideht, rs az explanation of why
tie visitor fads little women Of six or
ten years, palLid, thin, and old. sitting in
darE, smelling rooms, beading over
work, instead of rosy, hearty, happy
Eirlg, rompng home from school or play
mf -bou. tho yard and Railways
These LITTLE women of the ttnements
old before even they are young, bent
and llogagd before their yeuth begins,
forced before they have known q plea
sur. into the hopeless struggle for q bare
existence, ere Of all the pi.caus things to
le seen Iu King Poyorty's tenement do
mains the NOS. pilfGl Pi,iul for their
iittie past -at has never known a Joy
p.iul fer their grim present that knows
only toll, and Iittul for their blank and
hopeless future pro those infant women,
those littleoid Children Of the tenements,
s.ayc-born ana doomed to worse slavery
still, unless c righteous public sentiment
.utcryenos in their behalf.